This invention relates to tents, and more particularly to a foldable tent frame which allows the tent to be erected to a secure position and folded to compact dimensions in less than one minute.
There are many foldable tent constructions which afford rapid erection and folding. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,929,146, and 3.794,054 the construction utilizes an over-center brace arrangement allowing rapid erection and folding. Although the over-center brace arrangement secures the tent in erected condition under most circumstances, inadvertent excessive loading or application of other external forces on the tent may result in its automatic collapse.
Other tent constructions provide positive locking in the erected condition. However, they are complex and costly structural arrangements, some of which impose limits on the size, type and utility of the tent. Typical of these are the constructions disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,750,509; 4,478,234; 4,202,363; 3,874,397; and 3,738,378.